


too close

by arishia (OptimisticShipper)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Suicide Attempt, Suicide mention, aka a fic where chat tries to talk a person out of committing suicide, tw suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-18 12:05:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5927713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OptimisticShipper/pseuds/arishia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some things just hit too close to home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	too close

**Author's Note:**

> Summary: Some things just hit too close to home
> 
> thanks to my lovely flower, lastroseofspring, for beta-ing!

When Adrien heard the screams, he quickly transformed. It became second nature for him to transform so quickly into his superhero persona; that he didn't think to check what the danger was.

Vaulting across the roofs, he noticed a crowd outside Le Grand Paris. A few police cars formed a semi-circle around the entrance to the five-star hotel. Chat looked around, trying to find the akuma that was causing the disturbance, his ears perked up when he recognized Officer Roger's voice.

"M'am, please return to the inside of your room."

"No!"

A loud feminine shout caught Chat's attention. Looking up, the boy noticed a young woman dangling from one of the hotels' balcony. She clutched the railing as her feet were edged on the other side, if she slipped she would plummet to her death.

"Damn …" Chat murmured. He jumped down into the crowd, causing some of the people to shout in surprise at his abrupt entrance.

"Sorry! Excuse me, please." Chat made his way to the front of the police barricade, where Officer Roger, Mayor Bourgeois, and a young girl were watching the woman.

"Please, you have to help her!" The young girl pleaded. She shivered as the harsh winter winds blew her unruly, black hair around her face as she wrapped her shawl tighter around her shoulders. She continued to have a stare off with Officer Roger, who glared back at her. 

"Miss, we're doing everything we can. However, our hands are tied, she threatened to throw herself if a police officer tries to stop her." Officer Roger diverted his attention to one of his officers. The girl stifled a scream as she trained her eyes at the lady dangling herself over the balcony. Her eyes shifted over the woman’s form, waiting for a slight change in movement. The girl turned to the mayor.

"You don't understand! That is my sister right there! Please-" The girl shook with sobs as she gripped the mayor's sleeve. The mayor himself looked uncomfortable at the crying girl but his expression changed when he finally took notice of one of Paris's lucky duo.

"Chat Noir! Thank goodness you're here!" Mayor Bourgeois peeled himself away from the girl as he and Officer Roger addressed the black-clad superhero.

"What's the problem?" Chat asked. He crossed his arms as he watched the crying girl from the corner of his eye. Her brown eyes glared at the backs of the two men, but there was a gleam of hope when she realized who they were talking to. 

"It seems like your typical suicide attempt-twenty minutes ago we received word of a young woman trying to jump to her death. Once we arrived she was already in the position she's in now, dangling on the wrong side of the balcony. We tried to coax her down, but she wouldn't have it. She threatened to jump if we tried sending any police officers inside or to her room," explained Officer Roger.

Chat regarded the lieutenant carefully as he looked back to the suicidal woman. He noticed the annoyed, almost hostile, tone in Officer Roger’s voice. Chat scowled; he knew people like the woman on the balcony just needed someone to talk to. He knew because he- 

"Please," A broken voice jostled Chat from his thoughts, "Help my sister." The girl from before clutched his arm almost as if she let go, he would disappear. The pain and despair reflected in her eyes reminded Chat when he had that same look in his. The same look that used to haunt him every morning when he woke and every night before he went to sleep.

Chat squeezed the girl's hand in reassurance, a sense of determination filling every fibre of his being.

"I'll do my best." He said, swiping the megaphone from Officer Roger's hand and turning it on.

"Hey!" Chat called out. The environment fell silent as everybody watched the superhero confront the woman. Chat felt the woman's gaze on him.

"Do you mind if we talk?" His ears twitched as he waited for her response.

"As long as the police officers don't interfere." The wind carried her voice, but he heard her. Chat took a deep breath as he told Officer Roger to call back his men.

Chat felt anxious as he used his baton to help him reach the woman's room. He knew what she was going through and he had a feeling of what he could do to help her to recover.

Adrien felt naked as he came face to face with the girl's sister. He noticed the resemblance right away- black hair, brown eyes, tan/olive skin. The woman before him had her straightened hair cut short, close to her chin unlike her sister’s long, curly mass of hair. 

He snapped out of his thoughts and went back into hero mode as the woman glared him.

"Do you mind I take a seat?" He asked. His anxiety grew as the harsh winter winds shook his baton. The woman nodded and Chat let out a sigh of relief. He perched himself like a cat on the balcony's railing and stared out at the view in front of them.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" He murmured. The woman stiffened.

"I guess …"

"May I ask, what's your name?" Chat noticed how tensed the woman was. Slowly, she relaxed as she looked at him.

"Denise."

"Why, good evening, Denise. I'm Chat Noir, Parisian celebrity and local superhero! By day, I am just your average dork but by night, I am a vigilante of the dark!" Chat flipped his hair and grinned at Denise. She gave him a weird look.

"O-kay …" They both averted their gaze as a sense of awkwardness settled between them. Chat cleared his throat.

"So, wanna talk about what's on your mind? It seems like you have a lot going on for you." Chat regarded Denise carefully, ready to leap after her if she decided to jump any second.

"I-um …I just have a lot on my plate right now. With everything that's happening in my shitty job and trying to adjust to a new country, I just felt my life spiral out of control, you know?" Her gaze connected with his. Chat recognized the look as one of desperation, begging for someone to listen to her problems. Chat smiled in encouragement as Denise took a deep breath.

"My job is awful-I mean I'm grateful for it since I can earn my own money and be independent from my parents. It just drags me down every day. They expect me to travel around for them even though I didn't sign up for that! I just wanted to sit in an office and do my work in a sedentary environment-not constantly move around and be gone from home for weeks!” Denise sobbed. She shuddered as she tried to contain her tears. 

“I-I missed so many moments with my family. I missed my younger sisters' birthdays. I missed the birth of my niece. I missed family vacations. I hated that I felt left out of my own family because of my stupid job!" Denise growled. Her sentences slowly became incomprehensible as her voice cracked. Her eyes glistened in the receding sunlight.

Chat stayed silent as he let the woman compose herself. He waited for her whimpers to become nonexistent as he prepared what he would say next.

"I understand what you're going through." He murmured. Denise quickly glanced at him, measuring his words.

"But you're a superhero! Sh-shouldn't you be having the time of your life?" Denise asked innocently. She held down her sobs as Chat quietly laughed.

"Not exactly."

"Explain, please." They both looked at each other, Denise regarding the black clad hero in a different light. Chat shrugged.

"Being a superhero is nice and all, but it doesn't really solve my normal-self problems. My dad is still distant as ever. I finally started public school after being homeschooled my whole life. I've made friends but I felt like an outsider since they all knew each other for years already. Even after becoming Chat Noir, I still felt inadequate. I felt like even I wasn't needed if Ladybug was around." Chat sighed.

They stood in silence, with her still dangling over the edge of the balcony and him sitting on the railing. Day fell into night. Before them, the street lamps were lit as was the rest of the city. A huge light was flashed on them, making sure the police could have a clear view of the duo.

"So you were depressed for God knows how long?" Denise asked. Chat nodded.

"Yup. I got diagnosed recently, but before that I struggled with everyday activities. Some days I didn't even want to get out of bed, even though I knew I would be scolded by my father for my laziness. There were days when I felt bursts of anger and just wanted to lash out at anybody who talked to me. I either ate too much or ate too little. I gave little regard to my overall health and just dragged myself through every day. I would sometimes look into the mirror and see this hollow version of me- I didn't recognize who I was. There were ups and downs. During the downs, I just wanted to stop existing," Chat whispered the last part but he knew Denise got the message.

Chat heaved out a sigh, trying to keep his emotions in check. He needed to clear his head and reminded himself that he needed to be strong for Denise. The wind bit at their skin, making Denise’s shivering worse. Chat looked at the Parisian city line and noticed a familiar red and black figure on one of the many roofs.

"What kept you going?" Denise asked. Chat hummed as the familiar figure grew closer. He smiled.

"Ladybug did." 

Denise laughed. Chat smiled wider as she tried to compose herself.

"I'm . . Ha! I'm so sorry but that's really cheesy!" Laughter slipped from her lips as Chat laughed along.

"Nah, I understand. But it's the truth! Cat's honor!" Chat saluted her as Denise bit down the last of her laughter.

"How did she keep you going? I know Ladybug is special and all- being a superhero like you- but what did she do exactly?" Chat rubbed the back of his head shamefully.

"I may have made her cry …"

"What?!" Denise yelled. She yelped when she almost lost her footing. Chat gasped as he gripped her arm and helped her regain her previous posture. He heard the crowd beneath them gasp in terror. Luckily, the woman was able to dig her foot into the concrete edge of the balcony. Chat kept a better eye on her as he explained his previous statement.

"I didn't mean to! It's just I had one of my depression periods, a down, and I had to patrol Paris with Ladybug. I was friends with her at that point-we saved the city a few times and we had an established partnership. But I didn't recognized what we had. I just thought I was her lousy sidekick and nothing more. That night we were jumping around, making sure the citizens were safe and nothing fishy was going down. There was a huge gap between these two buildings but I didn't care. I braced myself and made the leap.

I wasn't even halfway across when I started to fall. The moment I started falling, I've already given up. I forgot about my baton and just accepted death. I figured 'what's the point?' One minute I'm falling and the next I was in Ladybug's arms as she vaulted us onto the building I was originally heading towards. We crashed landed on the roof. Ladybug held me in her arms even as we rolled to a stop... I was in a daze. I just stared at her as she screamed and shook me, but I snapped out of it the minute I felt her tears on my face."

Taking a break, Chat surveyed their surroundings. The crowd grew as news crews decided to report. He felt the cameras trained on them but he ignored it as he tried to find his spotted partner. Denise slightly nudged him, prompting him to continue.

"She cried and yelled in my face. Ladybug demanded to know why I didn't pull out my baton and save myself. All I said was 'I don't know' as she hugged the living daylights out of me.” His voice cracked. Chat cleared his throat and rubbed his teary eyes.

“At that moment it clicked for me what happened and I couldn't help but realize how terrifying that must have been in Ladybug's eyes, for her, to see your partner just take this huge leap and not do anything to save themselves. We held each other for a while. I apologized and told her it would never happen again. We decided to cancel patrol early and head home. When I got to my room, she called me and double checked to see if I had made it back safely. Since then, she called every night after patrol to check up on me. Some nights I talked to her about my feelings and others we just enjoyed each other's company." Chat sighed. He smiled ruefully as Denise processed his words. Her brown eyes regarded him thoughtfully. 

"Is that all?" She asked. Chat shrugged.

"Maybe. Since then I became a bit more open towards my friends at school. Granted, I still have my ups and downs but it felt nice to know there I was someone I could talk about it with you know. Whenever I had a down, I called Ladybug. I would be crying but I begged her to talk about anything. For hours I would listen to her go on and on. Her voice soothed me and I just remember how I'm never alone. Ladybug's actually the one that pushed me to get diagnosed. She became my rock throughout all this and without her I don't know where I'll be. I wouldn't have been able to go to the movies with my friends, or go on field trips with my classmates. I would have missed so much; I'm glad she saved me that night. I mean she still does, you know." 

“Ladybug constantly reminds me how much she cares and loves me. That she will always be there for me and I will always be there for her.” Chat murmured. He cleared his throat as he waited for Denise’s response. 

"So what you're trying to tell me is that I should wait? Let me guess …Everything will get better!" Denise bit out sarcastically. Chat cringed at her tone.

"Nah, not really. What I'm trying to say is… I guess... Don't bottle it all up. You may think you're being strong for keeping all this to yourself, but you can't handle this alone." Chat squeezed her shoulder as he stared at her. He mustered every ounce of hope and empathy into his eyes. He held her gaze as he continued his little speech. 

"You don't have to handle this alone. You have your family. Your sister is down there right now, waiting for you to come to her safely. She needs you just as much as you need her. Talk to her, talk to your family, talk to someone! Just …don't bottle this up. Please." Chat cringed at the crack of his voice.

Chat carefully sat back down on the railing, letting his legs hang in the air. He let out a thoughtful sigh. 

"It's your choice, Denise, I won't force you to do something you don't want to do." Chat said to her. He felt tense as there was a pregnant pause. He kept his gaze forward, trying not to look at Denise as if he was pressuring her.

"Chat... T-take me to my sister. Please."

~

Chat choked up at the reunion between Denise and her younger sister, Alma. 

The two sisters collapsed in a heap in front of the hotel, their sobs shaking their bodies. Alma hugged her older sister to her chest. She mouthed ‘thank you’ to Chat, who smiled at the young girl. 

The crowd cheered when the two girls brought Chat into a group hug. Mayor Bourgeois and Officer Roger patted him on the back for a job well done. The police force slowly broke down the barricade and allowed the hotel guests to return to their rooms. Chat escorted Denise and Alma back to Denise's room and bid them farewell. He happily accepted their invitation to breakfast in the morning, and told them he knew the perfect bakery to buy from.

Chat held back his tears as he scaled the Eiffel Tower. He knew Ladybug was there and was glad that she believed in him to handle the situation. She left a voicemail behind through their communicators, softly telling him where to meet her after he helped Denise and Alma. 

Leaping onto the platform, Chat felt relieved to see Ladybug patiently waiting for him. She had a bag of pastries and two cups of what he assumed was hot chocolate placed in front of her. They shared a smile as Chat sat across from her. Chat enjoyed their talks, the moments where it didn't matter whether or not they knew each other's real identities. As long as they could talk about their feelings/emotions and be there for each other, Chat was content. They were partners-through thick and thin.


End file.
